Worst Cast Scenario
by reronettie
Summary: Scott enlists the help of unlikely allies in order to restore Franco to his former self. A Friz fanfic.


Notes- This story is a little darker than I normally write, especially in the beginning. I've been a bad mood about the Friz story lately, and this was born from that. I have no idea if I would actually want to see this happen, but I just want Franco back and this seemed like a fun, yet dark, way to get him there.

Elizabeth stood in the courtroom for the second day in a row. Her lawyer was her father-in-law, Scott Baldwin, and he was next to her; his hands were shaking. They had been sure they would win this competency hearing, but they didn't plan on Kim Nero finding "Drew" one of the best lawyers in the state. Neither of them was sure what would happen next. Their chances dwindled more and more by the minute. Elizabeth felt like her heart was slowly breaking.

Plans were made for this outcome, but she never thought it would happen. If things went south, she had indeed lost Franco. She was mentally preparing for that outcome, but she hoped beyond everything she would never face it. Failing was the worst-case scenario. She meant it when she told him she never loved anyone as much as she loved him. If he was gone, she was confident she would never love another.

"All rise." The bailiff announced as the judge came back to the courtroom after deliberating. She could feel the sadness on the woman's face and guessed the decision. Even Cameron's testimony about Franco becoming his father wasn't enough. Elizabeth understood the news would not be good. Drew's resolve that he was a person who deserved to live hurt the case. The fact that his lawyer spun things to look like Liz treated the real Drew Cain the same way Kim treated Franco, had wrecked it.

"This is one of the hardest cases I have ever tried. I can legitimately understand both sides of this argument. If I rule in favor of Mrs. Baldwin, I am essentially killing a man, and if I rule in favor of Mr. Cain, I destroy a family by taking away their father. In the end, I need to go with my gut. The only question that matters is whether the man in front of me is capable of making decisions for himself. Unfortunately, I believe the answer to that question is yes. He may not be choosing to live his life as the man he once was, but he does not suffer from a disability, nor is he insane. I'm very sorry you lost your husband Mrs. Baldwin, but the man in front of me deserves to live just as much as Franco did." The words cut threw Elizabeth like a knife. She couldn't believe this was happening. Everything she had done had been pointless. Scott was nearly in tears as she began sobbing into his chest. Drew won. They failed Franco.

The moment they stepped outside; Scott dialed the phone. She had no idea how she would tell the boys that Franco was gone. The concept of accepting this was unreal to her, so, it would be so much harder for them. She was shocked when Scott shooed her away.

"It's best if you don't hear this." She was more than curious to listen in, but maybe he needed a private moment. She didn't want to consider any other possibility. He deserved his privacy to deal with the loss of his son.

"I'm sorry this happened." Kim Nero approached. Elizabeth struggled not to slap her.

"No, you aren't," Elizabeth couldn't believe the nerve of this woman. "I blame you for this. Leave me alone so that I can mourn my husband."

"You should be grateful to me; I stopped you from the guilt of killing an innocent man." She was delusional enough to believe what she was saying.

"You convinced that man not to fight for his life, by taking advantage of his confusion. I hope he resents you someday." Kim walked away without saying another word. Elizabeth turned back to Scott. He looked as angry as she was, but he was still on the phone.

"It would seem I need your help, after all, get everything prepared," Scott was covering his mouth, trying to hide what he was saying. Elizabeth could not hear the voice on the other end, and she was dying to find out whom Scott was speaking to on the phone. "Be ready within the Hour." He stated. Elizabeth was sick inside; whatever her father-in-law was planning, it might get ugly.

-/-

The man who was now Drew Cain practically skipped toward the docks. He won the case, and now he could be the man he wanted to be. He was allowed to be Drew officially. No more Franco Baldwin was hanging over his head. He called Kim Nero, and she was meeting him; they were leaving together as they had planned from the beginning. The life they wanted was going to start today. They would go somewhere where no one had ever heard of Franco. Drew hoped to give her everything she ever dreamed of having. They planned to be happy, and there was nothing Elizabeth could do about it.

Elizabeth, he thought strangely. First, he felt sorry for her, the way she pined after Franco was sad. She needed to accept reality and move on. When she had him committed, he'd been angry. He didn't understand why she wouldn't let him go. Eventually, he gained a kind of respect for her. He could understand what Franco found so appealing. Elizabeth was the strongest opponent he ever faced. She was a tough and convincing lady, not to mention she was knock-out gorgeous. If he had not been sure he belonged with Kim, he might have feelings for her. But he was free now, and he wanted a life with the mother of the son he never got a chance to know. He hoped he could give her another child. Kim would be a wonderful mother.

About a block from the docks, there was a strange sound behind him. Drew turned around just in time to find a frantic looking blond woman in hospital scrubs running toward him. She was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. She was in great distress. There was something that looked a lot like blood on her side. He wondered if someone had hurt her.

"Do you need assistance ma'am?" The expression on her face showed that she was distraught about something. She stumbled before reaching him, and he caught her, barely keeping her upright. She was heavier than he had been expecting.

"You don't recognize me?" She laughed maniacally. He realized where he had seen her before a second too late. "That wife of yours was right to get you committed after all. I like that girl. She's a keeper."

"You're Heather Webber." The realization came too late as the syringe entered his arm, and a group of thugs surrounded him. He kicked out to defend himself, cursing Franco for not being more combat trained. "If you think Elizabeth Baldwin was willing to fight for you, you haven't seen anything yet." Before he could react, three other men appeared taking him down. As the restraints went on his wrists, he glanced up and saw Jason Morgan, Sonny Corinthos, and Scott standing to the side of the scene, watching intently. His vision was getting blurry.

"Take him to the address on this paper," Sonny told his goons. "There will be a medical chair there, strap him in, and leave. We can't have any further part in this."

"Sure thing." One of the goons answered. Drew focused his anger at Franco's father.

"I thought better of you, Scott." Drew attempted to stay awake.

"You will thank me, Franco." He emphasized the name as he said it. All Drew wanted to do was spit at him. Heather was following the goons.

"We can call it even now Baldwin; I did my part," Sonny said. Scott didn't answer. He nodded his head, He too followed. "Remember if the cops don't pick her up within the next three hours, I'm reporting your involvement."

"I know, thank you for giving my son a chance," Scott said.

"I am settling an ancient debt, nothing more." Sonny clarified, and after that, they were out of earshot.

-/-

Drew awoke sometime later, strapped once again to a chair. They were in a dark warehouse. He couldn't believe Elizabeth would go so far as to let a deranged psychopath out of lock-up. She could be arrested and lose her children. He had figured out she was ruthless, but this was dark even for her. She either loved Franco or really hated him. After thinking about it, he decided it was a little of both.

"I can't believe you and Elizabeth would go this far. I knew you were desperate, but this is sad. You do not have my consent; all of you are going to jail," His eyes focused on the only other person in the room, Heather. She gave him a mischievous grin.

"I'm already there, so it makes no difference to me." She cackled. "I did all of this alone."

"Elizabeth doesn't know anything about this, I know she wouldn't approve." Scott appeared from the shadows. He was trying to end Heather's rambling, "I want my son back, it isn't fair for you to walk around in his body. You aren't a person no matter what that judge says. You are a virus, and I'm getting you out of my son!"

"I admit I liked Franco a little better before they took out his tumor." Heather spoke, "but I love my son. You aren't him. I will do whatever is necessary to bring him back."

"What do you presume to do? Scare me until I agree to the procedure or torture me. You saw how this worked out for Elizabeth. I was in Iraq, the two of you won't break me." He had no idea what good kidnapping him like this would do. He was not going to give into them any more than he would give in to Elizabeth.

"They don't need to." He heard a heavily accented voice say from across the room. He hadn't noticed the third person. The woman who once slapped him in the face stepped from the shadows. Dr. Liesl Obrecht, he remembered. "I have no problem with performing the procedure right here, right now."

"You are a Doctor," Drew argued. "Didn't you take an oath, possibly leaving me in a vegetative state is harming me, Doctors aren't supposed to do that."

"You are a disease that is killing Franco, and I am saving him." Her tone made his blood turn cold. "This is just a drop in the bucket for me. I have done so much worse." She was preparing a needle filled with something. He cringed. "Elizabeth should have come to me from the beginning, but she is always so afraid of getting her hands dirty. I know Franco loves her, so I try my best. Sometimes she is so insipid."

"Franco isn't here." Drew snapped. "He died when Dr. Cabot and Shiloh performed the procedure on him." Obrecht gave him a smile which proved even further that she was insane.

"We will see about that." She continued to grin. "I've been doing some research of my own."

"You don't know what you are doing." He screamed, trying to break free. "You're not an expert, and if the odds were bad before, they would be horrible if Maddox doesn't do it. You can't think this is what's right for anybody."

"Ah, now, that is not true. I was present when Faison had the original procedure performed on Drew and Jason. Cesar Faison was my lover and the father of my children. I studied Dr. Maddox's work for months, and I believe I can do his procedure just as well as he could, if not better. I think I figured out a secret Maddox did not think of." She teased.

"That better be true, I'm committing several crimes here on your assurances," Scott was nervous. "We could both be in massive trouble if this fails."

"And if I'm going to take the fall for all this, you better bring back my son," Heather added. Drew was terrified. He now understood precisely how scared Franco was when Shiloh and Cabot had done this to him. Scott and the women thought of everything. If he woke up though, he would remember, and they would all go to jail. They believed Franco would wake up and keep silent.

"Nighty, night Drew," Obrecht said as she injected him. "See you soon, Franco."

-/-

Twenty-one hours later, Elizabeth Webber-Baldwin sat at her husband's bedside. Dr. Maddox determined someone was awake inside of the body. He was not in a vegetative state, but they had no clue what the results of the procedure would be. Until he opened his eyes, they couldn't know if it was Franco or Drew. Kim was looming around claiming that if the man in the bed woke up as Drew, he would want her and not Elizabeth. Kim seemed to think that was the only possibility. Elizabeth was unsure of what would happen.

She still couldn't figure out how Heather managed to perform the procedure all on her own. Somehow, she had gotten hold of Dr. Maddox's research. She broke out of the asylum, found Drew, drugged him and perform the procedure on him. Shortly after Heather finished, she called Scott and directed him to the warehouse where she had set up her makeshift lab. When Scott and the police arrived, Heather surrendered without a fight. She told the police to go ahead and add this to her list of charges.

Liz was on duty when they brought Franco in. She was reasonably certain Scott had something to do with Heather's escape, but she wouldn't turn him in. Heather refused to tell the police who set up the chair, but they could only assume it was one of the men she hired. Jordan questioned Elizabeth about her involvement an hour after Franco had been brought in. Kim believed Elizabeth was responsible. Jordan seemed to believe her. All she had were suspicions, and she would not share them.

"Any idea how much longer he is going to sleep?" Elizabeth asked as Dr. Maddox, and the neurologist on the case, Dr. Carver, entered the room.

"We can't say, his brain scans are mostly standard, there is a lot of swelling around his brain stem like there was before, but his activity is healthy. He's only resting from all the stress. To Elizabeth's surprise, Dr. Obrecht entered after them.

"I wanted to check on him before I leave for the end of my shift." She said. The look she gave Elizabeth was more profound. She wondered if Obrecht was up to something.

"I don't care who wakes up, as long as someone does," Elizabeth said. Despite everything, she meant it.

"We all came to check in and make sure nothing changed." Dr. Maddox said. "I'm going to head back to my hotel. If anything changes the nurses' station can call me, I gave them the number."

"Thank you." She smiled at him.

"Do me a favor?" Doctor Carver interjected. "Don't forget to take care of yourself, I know this is hard, but you need to be strong when he wakes up."

"I will try," Obrecht lingered after the other two left, Elizabeth was sure this was not about her well-being.

"What do you want Liesl?" Dr. Obrecht leaned forward putting her mouth to Elizabeth's ear.

"I'm glad I didn't put him in a vegetative state, I might have been pretty upset with myself if I did that." She whispered.

"You did this," Elizabeth **said** back quietly. A part of her was relieved. Liesl was a doctor, and she knew what she was doing much better than Heather would have. They must have been in on it together. Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I should be furious with you. But all I can say is thank you for doing what I couldn't." Liesl said nothing in response but put a finger to her lips as if telling Liz to keep her secret. Just then, Epiphany walked into the room.

"I was going. If Franco wakes up tell him I'm rooting for him." All hints of their conversation suddenly ended. Obrecht turned and headed out the door. Epiphany watched her curiously.

"I'm under orders from Cameron and Scott to make you go and eat something," Epiphany said. Elizabeth didn't want to leave Franco. "I will stay here with him while you are gone."

"I will be right back." She was planning to hit the vending machine. She would bring back some Fritos for Franco. They were his favorite.

"If he wakes up, I will call. Please take at least 30 minutes, Liz. I told you the last time you need to take care of yourself." Elizabeth reluctantly headed out of the room. Before she was out the door, Franco began to moan. She turned and ran back to him.

"Cameron..." His voice was a raspy whisper Elizabeth grabbed him a drink of water from the tap. "It will be OK... tell your mom..." Then his eyes opened. He looked around the room wildly. Elizabeth had to grab him to keep him laying down.

"Calm down. You are in the hospital." She handed him the cup. "You're safe."

"Elizabeth?" He looked very relieved. "Is Cameron, OK?"

"He's fine. He's at school right now." Elizabeth assured.

"You are surprisingly alert." Epiphany soothed. "Can you tell me your name, please?"

"Come on, Epiphany, you were a guest at our wedding; you know who I am?" He said. The flutter in Elizabeth's chest was enormous.

"Tell her anyway?" He looked at the two women, even more confused.

"Franco Baldwin." He said looking back and forth between them. "Did I go by another name or something?" Elizabeth felt both relief and worry. She was beginning to suspect something unexpected. She leaned down and pecked him lightly on the lips, her hand pushing the hair from his face.

"What's the last thing you remember babe?" Elizabeth reassured him, trying not to show her alarm.

"I found Cameron, and they wanted to put Drew's memories inside him. I took his place and made him promise to tell you I loved you." His voice was shaking, and he grabbed Elizabeth's hand hard.

"Everyone is fine," Elizabeth assured him as Epiphany wrote down a few more numbers in his chart.

"I'm going to give you two a few minutes. I'm stepping out to see if Dr. Maddox has left yet. He was headed out the door when I spoke with him five minutes ago. If he isn't still here, I will call him." Epiphany stepped out the door, giving them space.

"What's going on?" There was a hint of fear in Franco's voice. "Why is Dr. Maddox here?"

"Franco," Elizabeth said. "That thing with Cameron, it happened almost three months ago."

"What?" He asked. "Was I in a coma?"

"No, you weren't," She didn't know how to tell him what came next. "17 hours after you saved Cameron, you woke up here in the hospital."

"Oh my god." He said, eyes wide. "That's not possible, Elizabeth. I would remember!"

"You vehemently believed you were chief petty officer Drew Cain and that the year was 2012." She started.

"What?" Franco shook his head. "Seriously." She saw him pinch his arm; sadly, he realized he was awake.

"It's a long story, but yesterday a reversal procedure with a 25% chance of success was performed on you," Elizabeth explained. "And as per usual, you beat the odds." She leaned down to kiss him, but before their lips touched, Kim Nero burst into the room. Elizabeth glared daggers at her.

"Get out," Elizabeth cried.

"Drew, I heard you woke up. Are you OK? What has she been saying to you?" Kim asked, ignoring Elizabeth. "You might be confused but..."

"He isn't confused. He's Franco." Elizabeth glared at her. "Just like I knew he would be."

"That's not true. Drew, baby I need you to tell her who you are." Kim begged.

"Kim, I don't have a clue what's going on here, but I'm Franco, like always." Kim looked distraught.

"The procedure appears to be successful." Elizabeth beamed feeling only a flutter of guilt as she walked to Franco and took his hand. "Everything is back to normal Kim."

"You killed him. You killed the last bit of the man I love." Her eyes went wild.

"I did nothing. The procedure brought back the guy who belongs in this body. Get the hell out of this room, before I call security." Elizabeth clenched her fists so hard her fingernails dug into the skin of her palms. Kim looked like she might vomit.

"You will pay for this," Kim's desperation was evident. "What you did was a crime. I will make sure Martin Gray tries you and Scott Baldwin for first-degree murder."

"I told you before, Kim; I did nothing. Heather Webber did this. I can't say I'm not glad I got my husband back, but I don't condone how this was done." Franco was looking more confused by the minute. Kim slammed out the door.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" Franco looked genuinely concerned. Elizabeth walked over to the bed, collapsed against him and began to sob. "Last I remember the two of you were good friends."

"You won't handle this well." She said. "I was hoping you would remember. So I wouldn't have to do this."

"Elizabeth." He pleaded, rubbing slow circles on her back. She wasn't known to fall apart like this. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as the sobs filled her body. Elizabeth knew she was supposed to be taking care of him, but everything that was happening overtook her. All the emotions she had been bottling inside for weeks flooded out of her. She finally had the one person she wanted to confide in by her side.

"This has been the hardest few months of my life." She spoke. "I felt like I was on an island all alone. Everyone told me to give up on you, to let you go. But I couldn't. Letting go of you was never a possibility. I love you too much. I couldn't stand to watch your body walking around with no memory of me."

"I love you too, Elizabeth." He reached down and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "But you need to tell me. Everything, I'm lost. I can see I hurt you, and it is killing me."

"OK." Her voice sounded weak. "But this is going to be extremely painful."

-/-

It took almost an hour for her to lay it all out for him. Franco was wrecked when she told him he had slept with Kim. It hadn't helped that Dr. Maddox showed up right after to check in on him. There was no explanation as to why his memories of his time as Drew were gone. In theory, he should remember everything.

"Franco, the tissue around your brain is still very swollen. The memories from the time you were Drew may be buried. There is no way of knowing if you will ever remember. Please understand, though, during that time, you were not in control." Dr. Maddox tried to explain.

"You may want to seek counseling for what has happened." He was trying to be kind, but Franco was mad at him. If he had never developed the procedure, this wouldn't have happened.

"Great, just what I need, more therapy." Franco gave a sarcastic laugh; he ran his hand through his hair. He looked down at his fingers, realizing his ring was missing.

"Drew took it off. I have your ring at home. Cameron will bring it when he gets out of school. He is desperate to talk to you." Her voice was soothing.

"I'm going to order another set of brain scans and leave you two for now." Dr. Maddox said as he exited the room. Elizabeth tried to hold Franco again, but he pushed her away.

"Please don't." She **begged**, forcing him to make eye contact with her. His eyes were cloudy with tears.

"I took off my ring. They would have to pry it off my dead body!" Tears formed in his eyes. "How can you even look at me, Elizabeth. I don't deserve you!"

"Franco!" She grabbed his face and turned his head to look at her. "When I look into your eyes, I don't see the guy who believed he was Drew Cain. I see the loyal man who loves me and my children. I see the man I gave the fight of my life to bring back and the only person who I want to spend forever with. You are the one. You have never done anything but go above and beyond to prove you deserve to be with me. Someday I hope that I deserve to be with you." At this, she gave him the kind of passionate kiss she only ever shared with him. It was like two halves of a whole, finally connecting.

"The thing I want you to remember, no matter how dark it gets or what you feel, Is that you saved Cameron. If not for you, I would've lost my son. You are a true hero, and no one can take that from you. Not Cabot, not Shiloh, and not Kim Nero."

"I suddenly remember why I love you so much." He managed, letting her hold him now. It would take time.

"So, I'm only confused about one thing now. You said you lost the case and if that happened, how did I get the procedure?" He questioned.

"Well, I can't be sure, but I think your father took some desperate measures to get you back. We can talk more about this when they let you out of here."

"I would appreciate it if we never mentioned it again," Scott **spoke** from the doorway. He had a broad smile on his face as he ran in and hugged his son.

"If I heard correctly, mom did this to me. Please tell me you didn't let Heather Webber out of the asylum for me?" Franco smiled, teasing his father, and Scott walked to his bed and gave him a firm hug.

"I did what I had to do, son." Scott paused. "It was the worst-case scenario."

"Thank you," Franco grinned. "It's nice to know you have my back."

"Always," Elizabeth said, and with a wink at Scott, she knew they would rebuild their future together.

-/-

Two weeks later, Elizabeth sat in the stiff metal chair of the visitor's room. She never thought she would be here. The guard came in with her mother-in-law in chains. Heather quirked an eyebrow, as they secured her to the chair. Only one guard remained in the room.

"This is only a five-minute visitation." The other guard reminded them as he stepped out of the door. "Make good use of your time. I can't believe that they are even allowing her this."

"I never thought I'd see you here." Heather laughed. Elizabeth slid a paper bag across the table. Heather gave her a small ghost of a smile.

"How did you know to bring me this?" She sounded almost hopeful. Elizabeth giggled a little.

"Franco tells me everything. It's a condition of our marriage. He said it's your favorite. I thought it would be a nice way to break the ice." Heather opened it and smelled.

"That's my boy." She agreed. Elizabeth could tell she was excited about the special treat.

"He thinks my coming here is a mistake." She told Heather. "I said I needed to come anyway."

"How is my son?" Heather asked. Elizabeth could see the genuine concern.

"He's feeling much more like himself, thanks to you," Elizabeth's hands were shaking. She could see by the relieved expression that Heather did not know the procedure had worked. "That's why I'm here. To say, thank you."

"There is nothing to say thank you for. I did what was necessary to save my son. I love him." She said it in a way that surprised Elizabeth.

"So do I. What you did, I know you had help, but I'm glad you were strong enough to do what I couldn't. I don't have words to say how grateful I am to have my husband back." It was the hardest thing Liz had ever done.

"You are stronger than you give yourself credit for." Heather surprised her again. "Take care of my son."

"I will because I love him. He is my person." She said. The guard stood signaling that time was up.

"You are the only woman who has ever been good enough for him. I'm glad I don't have to try and kill you." Heather said. "Thanks for this." She held up the bag. Elizabeth smiled. It was nice to know she had her mother-in-law's seal of approval. Heather might be a crazed psychopath, but she was also Franco's mother. Elizabeth looked at her watch, deciding she should head home. It was nearly time for dinner, and Franco and Aiden were cooking something extraordinary. Life was slowly getting back to normal.


End file.
